Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Aina's Story

RED
PAINT

My name is Mandy Shaw and at
this point, I don’t know what to do. It all started earlier this year when
every decision I made was crucial, it was the start of my first year of high
school. Over the holidays, I decided that I am sick and tired of not being able
to eat in the cafeteria just because I didn’t really fit in with anyone. Yes,
you’d have to fit in a specific ‘group’ to be able to get a table at the
cafeteria. It was as if the tables had names on them. One for the super rich
and popular girls, one for the nerds and geeks, one for the dark-sided people
who wear too much eyeliner and the list goes on.

It was just me and Kira. Kira
and I have known each other since primary school. We both found out that we
don’t really belong in any ‘group’ so we decided that we’d just stick with each
other. But before the school break was over, I decided to make a major change.
I changed my hair, I started wearing make-up and over-exposed and tight clothes.
I wanted to be popular, I wanted to be the person everyone talked about in
school, the person that everyone was jealous of, I just basically wanted to be
the Emma Jamieson of my high school. Emma Jamieson was the most popular girl
from my middle school. She was the talk of the town for basically forever until
her family moved to Vancouver. So I decided that I’d replace her and be the
next Emma Jamieson.

On the very first day of
school, the second I stepped onto the school compound, heads started turning,
boys were giving me smiles and the girls were nodding at me as if they were
saying “Wow Mandy, you’ve really stepped up your game this year”. I have to
admit it was kind of strange to have so many people looking at me. No,
actually, it was strange that they even acknowledged my existence. Then at the
school’s main door stood Kira Dean, patiently waiting for me. Her family went
on a long vacation to Hawaii so I didn’t really have the time to talk to her.

Kira’s jaw dropped the second
she looked at me then the weirdest thing happened. She took a long and good
look at me from head to toe and said “Is that you Mandy?!”. I was so taken a
back by this. How could she not recognize her so called best friend since
primary school? But then again, I did change my appearance and I look ten times
better than how I used to look. “Oh my god! You look like you belong in a
nightclub” she continued. I was so speechless at her statement that I only
managed to give her an offended look. After a good minute or two I finally built
up the courage to talk back. “Well atleast I actually dressed up to go to
school. You look like you just rolled out of bed!” I exclaimed pointing out her
outfit which was a worn out hoodie and the same leggings that she has been
wearing for the past year or two. She obviously did not take it well because
she immediately turned around and headed straight into the hallway without
looking back.

I totally regret what I said
but at that time, it didn’t really matter to me because my main goal was to
become popular and if that was ever going to happen I would have to be friends
with known people like Jax Davidson whose dad is Harley Davidson but unlike
Jax, Kira had nothing special. No special talent, no important parent, she was
just like old me. A nobody. But that changed, I changed and I was about to me
the most popular girl in Linkin High School. I already look like the popular
girls and all I had left was to act and behave like them.

During recess, Jax and Britt
(Emma Jamieson’s previous clique) came up to me and basically gave me their
approval on my change of style. This was a big deal to me, I was one step
closer to being popular. Days went by and I slowly became closer to Jax and
Britt, I managed to get a seat at their table and they even helped me make the
cheer team. At this point, I wasn’t even climbing the stairs to popularity
anymore, I was taking the elevator.

Who would’ve known that being
popular was so hard. You have to constantly make sure that your hair is in
place, that you haven’t accidentally smudged your make-up and if you had
everyone’s attention every time you enter a room. Britt and Jax taught me this;
to always have a dramatic entrance. It boosts my elevator up a few floors every
time until eventually I got to the floor right below the rooftop and yes I’m
talking about that elevator that takes me up to my main goal (popularity).
Britt told me that to get to the rooftop was to make history, to do something
and have people talk about it forever.

I was so close and after
everything I had to do to get this far, there was no turning back so today I
told Britt and Jax that I’m up for it. I’m going all the way up to the rooftop.
They were amazed at how determined I was to get to the top but the told me that
they believed in me and that I could do it. The only thing that I could think
of that would have people talking about forever was to pull the most epic prank
of the decade. The plan was to put up an audition sheet for a school play right
outside of the drama classroom and purposely only leave one empty slot. Then
when this unlucky person who assumed she was auditioning for a play shows up at
the auditorium, Britt and Jax and a crowd of about 30 people will be sitting in
the stands pretending to get ready to audition. We would then purposely call
out this unlucky person first and right when she stands at center stage, I
would pour a can of red paint all over this person from the lighting deck
above. This was all planned to happen this afternoon. I looked at my watch and
it said 12.30a.m. “It’s happening!” I told Britt and Jax. They told me that the
unlucky person had already signed the audition sheet but they didn’t give me a
specific name. All they told me to do was to get ready at the lighting deck and
Britt will give me the cue to pour the paint down.

I did as I was told and I had
the can of red paint ready in my hands. Then the door opened and the unlucky
person walked in. I couldn’t really tell who it was because all I could see was
the top of her head. She wore a hoodie and leggings and she had her hair in a
very messy bun. Then a few minutes later, Britt looked at me from the crowd and
gave a nod. “I guess that’s my cue” I thought to myself. All I could think
about was how I would finally achieve what I want and how satisfied I would
feel after this prank. Then right when the red paint started pouring out of the
can, the person looked up and I immediately recognized her, it was Kira Dean. I
wanted to stop the paint from pouring out but as i pulled the can up it was
already empty and the paint was all over Kira.

A surge of guilt went through
my whole body and I felt sick and grossed out with myself and what I have
become. But then the whole crowd started laughing and everyone recorded it on
their phones. It was in fact the most epic prank of the decade. This is it,
this is the moment where I do not know what to do, what to feel, and how to
react. Should I feel guilty that I just poured red paint all over my childhood
best friend who was always there for me before and who would never do anything
like this to me? Or should I be proud that I will finally get what I want and
everybody will be talking about me and this epic prank for the next century?

I went with my gut feeling and
I laughed along with the crowd. It is what I want anyways right? Or is it?